Woman found guilty of murdering her girlfriend and cutting her body in two 15 years ago

Ms Zablocka was first reported missing in 2010, and her remains were found buried in Princes Street, Derby, on June 1 , 2025.

The mother of one shared a phone call with her mother, who was the last person to hear from her, on August 28, 2010.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said shortly after this call, she was murdered by the defendant.

Podedworna, a Polish turkey butcher, cut Ms Zablocka in half with a kitchen knife, trussing the victim up "like a chicken" with electrical tape.

She then buried her remains in bin bags in a "filthy, makeshift grave".

The jury was told "considerable force" would have been needed to cut Ms Zablocka’s body in half, and that her legs had been bound together before she was buried.

Mr Gordon said Podedworna was a skilled butcher at a poultry factory called Cranberry Foods in Scropton, Derbyshire, at the time she killed Ms Zablocka.

He told the court: "Her work had involved skinning, deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife."

Employment records at the Cranberry Foods factory show that Podedworna took two weeks off work after Ms Zablocka made her final contact with her mother.

Podedworna emailed police 15 years later, on May 21, 2025, confessing she had information on the case she wished to share.

Three days later, she told officers where they would find the body.

Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC said "mounting pressure" caused Podedworna to "crack", and email the police when a Polish television journalist flew to the UK to interview her.

Officers then recovered Ms Zablocka's remains under concrete blocks in the garden of a terraced house on Princes Street.

She shared the house with Podedworna after the pair moved to the UK from Poland together.

Podedworna claimed Ms Zablocka died by "accident" during a violent confrontation and said she ended up killing her partner in "self-defence".

The defendant, giving evidence in court through the help of a Polish interpreter, said Ms Zablocka was "angry" on the day of her death, before she grabbed Podedworna and began strangling her.

Rather than call an ambulance when she felt no pulse, the court was told she decided to cut the victim in half and bury her in the garden.

Podedworna told jurors: "I was just terrified, I felt fear. I thought I will bury her. I took the decision I would bury her in the garden.

"I wanted to pick her up whole. I just did not have the strength to pick her up. I had an idea to cut her down. It seemed the only way… to cut her into two."

The jury took seven hours and six minutes to come to a decision. When the verdict was delivered, Podedworna showed no emotion.

Samantha Shallow from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Izabela Zablocka came to Derby in search of a new life with her partner, but instead met her death.

"Anna Podedworna not only brutally murdered her partner, but she subjected Izabela’s loved ones to 15 years of uncertainty and anguish, not knowing if she was alive or dead.

"Podedworna hid the truth for years, but justice has caught up with her. Her callous actions took a mother and daughter away from her family and denied them the opportunity to grieve her passing and lay her to rest. I would like to offer them my sincere sympathies."

The defendant will be sentenced at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday.

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